Growth enhancement of the halotolerant Brevibacterium sp. JCM 6894 by methionine externally added to a chemically defined medium

Abstract

We examined amino acid requirements for the growth of the halotolerant Brevibacterium sp. JCM 6894 in the absence and presence of 1.2 M NaCl in a chemically defined medium. The experiment was also carried out in the presence of 1.2 M KCl. As a result, growth was highly enhanced by methionine in the absence and presence of KCl as well as NaCl up to 1.2 M. However, growth in the presence of 150 mM methionine was repressed by leucine (up to 100 mM) and valine (up to 100 mM). Concentration-dependent growth inhibition was observed in the presence of isoleucine (up to 150 mM) and threonine (up to 300 mM). When the cells were incubated in the absence of externally added K+, growth was strongly repressed, even in the presence of 150 mM methionine. The growth, however, recovered drastically by the addition of 1 mM KCl, regardless of the presence and absence of 1.2 M NaCl. These results indicate that methionine, which seems to be symported into cytoplasm with K+, plays an important role in the growth of the strain under salt stress.